When we hear “support the troops,” we often think about men and women deployed overseas. But those in military service face challenges not only in active duty — there are challenges for them at home as well, especially when they leave service.
In 2017, there were 20.4 million veterans in the US, of whom 4.1 million served at any point from 2001 forward. And up to 360,000 people leave military service each year. This large labor pool has valuable skills such as leadership, agile decision making and teamwork that can be an asset to many jobs. However, it can be difficult for veterans who are job seekers to see how their military skills are transferable, so veterans often pursue jobs without much previous experience required.
Problems exist beyond finding work. When veterans take corporate jobs, they often have trouble getting promoted and can feel underutilized and uninspired. In fact, between 60% and 80% of veterans leave their first civilian jobs before reaching two years there. But it is too important to let this talent go to waste. That’s why many corporate companies are investing heavily to recruit veterans in order to take advantage of their technical and leadership skills and are thinking strategically about how to retain them.
This Veterans Day, we wanted to celebrate the Top-Rated Workplaces by veterans. Indeed’s analytics team identified reviews from veterans in our 100-million-strong ratings and reviews database to come up with our rankings. Then we dug deeper to find out about specific initiatives supporting veterans in the top ten (scroll down to the bottom to see the top 50). Here’s what we found.
Top-Rated Workplaces by veterans
Our inaugural list of Top-Rated Workplaces by veterans includes a diverse mix of companies, from fast food to federal security. At the top of our rankings we see Texas-based international real estate franchise Keller Williams Realty.
Keller Williams boasts a family-like company culture and outlines the reasons they think veterans make great hires, such as their entrepreneurial nature, on a career page designed for veterans. Aside from flexible work schedules, some of the perks they offer employees include paid sabbaticals (the real estate giant also placed first on this year’s Top-Rated Workplaces for work-life balance) and discounts on fitness programs.
Fast-food restaurant Chick-fil-A came in as the number-two Top-Rated Workplace by veterans. The company has long been friendly to veterans, offering discounts and free meals on Veterans Day and other occasions. Chick-fil-A is also dedicated to hiring veterans and regularly features stories about veterans-turned-employees on their blog.
Airline giant Delta also receives strong reviews from veterans, coming in at number three. Delta employs over 10,000 veterans and is a participant in the 100,000 jobs mission, whose goal is to hire 100,000 transitioning service members and veterans by the year 2020. Delta also showcases stories of their employees with military backgrounds on a dedicated military hiring page, spotlighting skills like aviation mechanics and technical operations. According to Delta, “hiring transitioning service members and veterans isn’t just good for business. It’s the right thing to do.”
Wholesale retailer Costo comes in at number four this year. Not only does the company offer military discounts to customers, it also offers flexible hours for those attending school on the GI Bill, thus supporting education.
Rounding out the top five, meanwhile, we see H-E-B, a Texas-based grocery chain, who also topped our Top-Rated Workplaces in retail list this year. The company has highlighted the natural fit between veterans and H-E-B, citing their leadership experience and ability to work as a team.
Numbers six and seven seem like a direct fit for military skills. Northrop Grumman (#6) is an aerospace and defense technology company that was also rated number one among top-rated workplaces for millennials this year. In seventh place, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides veterans with opportunities to extend their service to the country beyond the military context.
Finally, rounding out our top ten are number-eight Kaiser Permanente, the largest managed-care company in the US; number-nine Marriott International, Inc., a US-headquartered international hotel chain; and number-ten Capital One, a bank and lending corporation. The variety of companies included in the top ten list show that any firm has the potential to offer opportunities and great experiences to veterans if they dedicate some effort to it.
From Indeed Editorial Team
ERIC MEDDERS REALTY GROUP | KELLER WILLIAMS
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